PHILADELPHIA — After finishing his junior season at Pine Plains HS (NY), most analysts believed that 6-foot-8 forward Tyler Lydon had mid-major recruit written all over him.

But after a successful spring that followed up on a decision to reclassify into the
Class of 2015, Lydon has started to college offers from a number of high-major programs, including teams that appear to be tournament-bound. He listed offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Providence, Boston College, Virginia Tech, Boston U, and Penn State, while noting that Virginia, Syracuse, Georgia Tech and Stanford had been inquiring of late.

“To be honest, I want to get like five more offers from bigger schools,” Lydon said of his goals heading into the summer’s open period. “I want to compete against the best.”

He’ll have a chance to do that for the rest of his high school career, as his decision to reclassify went hand-in-hand with a transfer to New Hampton Prep (NH). Notre Dame’s Zach Auguste, Boston College’s Olivier Hanlan and Indiana’s Noah Vonleh have all graced New Hampton’s roster in recent seasons.

“I can’t wait,” Lydon said. “Some of my teammates, we’re starting to get real close and I’m just looking forward to getting out there and playing. It’s the best competition in the country.”

Lydon may be competing against the best, but if Rivals No. 93 player in the Class of 2015 is going to be one of the best, the biggest improvement that he can make is to had some muscle to his 190 pound frame. Lydon may check in at 6-foot-8, but he’s still more of a perimeter option than he is a post presence, and while some of that has to do with his lack of size, much of it is because he’s an excellent shooter that’s more comfortable on the perimeter.

Think former Notre Dame wing Tim Abromaitis.

“My strength, obviously, I’m too skinny,” Lydon said of what he needs to improve on. “I want to work on my ball-handling and shooting, but I want to improve on everything right now, so I’m just going to be in the gym all day working at it.”